“Because . . .” Lauren peered again at her sweet baby on her lap. The bruise was still visible on his thigh, a fainter purple now. She and the others hadn’t said anything about not talking about the notes to people they trusted. “Look, I got this strange note in Matthew’s backpack after the first day. Saying we should enroll him somewhere else.”

“What?” Graham was on his feet now. “Are you serious?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. I-I thought you’d blame me. I figured it was my fault—that someone saw me freak out in public and took it the wrong way. So I got it in my head to write to Piper. Explain myself. Explain that I was getting help, that sort of thing. Except . . .”

She stopped. She couldn’t say the part about Piper forwarding an email that said she thought Lauren was a crazy bitch. It was just the sort of thing to set her off, and Graham knew it. Then again, wouldn’t the police have that email of Piper’s as well?

“Where is this note?” Graham asked. “Do you still have it?”

Lauren bit down hard on her lip. “I threw it away. I didn’t want you to see it.”

And there it was on his face: the doubt. “Graham, no, I really got one. Ronnie and Andrea did, too. That’s why we were in the hallway, we just wanted to talk to her.” His hand fluttered to his mouth. “Honestly! Nothing else happened! None of us hurt her! We were in the wrong place at the wrong time!”

Graham sank to a kitchen chair and stared blankly at the top of the table. “So you were in cahoots with those other two.”

“Cahoots?” Lauren cried. “They’re nice people.”

“How do you know they were telling the truth about getting notes?” Graham asked. “Maybe they were riling you up. People lie all the time. People like to stir up shit.”

“Not them,” Lauren said. Then she remembered something. Something she couldn’t believe she’d forgotten. “Hold on.”

She ran from the room and located Matthew’s backpack, which was sitting on the floor near the front door. She hurried back into the kitchen with it, her hands shaking. “I can’t believe I forgot. Yesterday, when we were talking outside the offices, Ronnie said she saw Piper go to Matthew’s bag. With another note.” She unzipped the bag and rooted around at the bottom. Her heart lifted when her fingers clamped on a folded-up slip of paper. “Here!” she cried, drawing it out and thrusting it at Graham.

He started to open it. Lauren rushed to be next to him so she could read the words, too. The typed message was in the same font as the note that had come before it, but it didn’t make sense.